Risk assessment

Online harassment tends to target journalists in very personal ways, and journalists’ own individual strategies to deal with it differ. Therefore, a thorough assessment of the psychological impact of online attacks on the targeted journalists is important in order to prevent and counter any consequences resulting from attacks.

This section describes the criteria that can be useful in determining how likely it is that an online threat may turn into a physical attack. Environment: Any risk assessment needs to take into consideration the overall security environment in which the threats take place.

An important aspect of online harassment and smear campaigns is the damage they cause to journalists’ reputations and the trust journalists enjoy among their audiences and the community at large. Because trust and credibility are core aspects of successful journalism, it is in the interest of news organizations and journalists to take all necessary measures [...